Zomato shares zoom in debut trade

SHARES of Indian food delivery unicorn, Zomato zoomed around 80 per cent in its debut trade today (23), against its issue price of Rs 76 (74p).

The stock made its debut at Rs 115 (£1.1) on the BSE. It then hit a high of Rs 138 (£1.3).

At the NSE, it got listed at Rs 116 (£1.1).

The food delivery app’s initial public offering (IPO) last week ended with a 38 times subscription. It was launched on July 14 with subscription closing on July 16.

Today’s (23) listing was pushed forward by four days and comes as India's stock market nears all-time highs.

The strong performance in its debut trade reflected investors’ interest in internet-based start-ups that have done well during the pandemic.

Zomato, backed by Jack Ma's Ant Group Co, is the first from a long list of Indian unicorn startups to launch an IPO.

Ahead of the stock market debut, Zomato's founder Deepinder Goyal tweeted "The future looks exciting. I don't know whether we will succeed or fail - we will surely, like always, give it our best."

Launched in 2008, Zomato offers food delivery and curates restaurant reviews.

The app service is available in 525 cities. With a monthly customer base of around 6.8 million, Zomato has become a household name in India.

In the run up to the listing some analysts had raised concerns about the high valuation of the loss-making business.

Its revenue for the financial year 2020-21 dropped by 23.4 per cent from the previous year.